According to the learning environment, English courses can be divided into EFL, ESL and ELA；. . According to the course objectives, it is EGP, EAP and ESP. Today, we will go into the details of how to understand and evaluate an EGP English textbook.
If you bring a set of teaching materials, mainly focusing on the outline, vocabulary, grammatical structure, and your export language level, then you are beside the point. With regard to reading textbooks, I summed up "Twelve Readings", that is, twelve perspectives of reading tutorials. You can prioritize these twelve items according to your own goals, and then choose the teaching materials that suit you according to the actual situation.
1. Look at the main target.
When you get a set of English textbooks, the first thing to look at is its main objectives. In other words, what problems does this textbook mainly help you solve? Some use a paragraph of CEFR to describe the goal, so we can know that this set of teaching materials is to convey the ability to use English in general life situations, because CEFR is composed of various sentences that can be done. Being able to make statements refers to various descriptions of listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities. In addition to CEFR, some courses will be described by 2 1 century competency framework, so we know that this textbook has soft competency goals such as thinking and consciousness besides language use goals. However, there are also teaching materials to sell dog meat. CEFR is written on the cover, but the outline inside is based on the grammatical structure, and the content in the unit is for the accuracy of grammar, with few links in English application. Then, this book is actually a knowledge-oriented teaching material, not a language skill-oriented one.
Look at the main line
A set of teaching materials depends not only on what is written on the cover, but also on its main line. The so-called main line is the content of the original textbook. Some textbooks are stories with stories as the main line, such as HHH. The whole book tells a story, and each unit is a chapter. After learning the story, I finished reading it. Its advantage is that it is very interesting and easy to catch children's interest; The disadvantage is that all knowledge points and language skills must be attached to the story. Due to the single genre of the story, many key contents are difficult to present naturally. Therefore, you will find that in HHH's teaching materials, the story is just a section, and each unit should add several sections to present what the story can't carry.
In addition to stories, the more common main line is the scene, with the theme as the main theme. For example, the first unit is in the zoo, the second unit is in school, and the third unit is I love eating. The design goal is language application ability. Language is used in a scene, and the language from a specific scene must match the corresponding scene when used. This actually solves the problem that many language learners don't know when and how to use the language after learning it.
There are also tasks as the main line. Each unit should complete a task and solve a problem. If the goal of thematic curriculum is children's communication ability in daily scenes, then the goal of task-based curriculum is children's ability to solve problems in English. This requires a higher level of children.
There is also a course, inquiry learning, which focuses on asking questions. The whole unit is a topic, a question, a question, and ultimately guide children to have a deep understanding of the theme. This is similar to IB course. IB is an internationally recognized course, originally designed for the accompanying children of foreign diplomats, so that they can connect with their own university education system when they grow up. IB is not targeted at universities in a specific country, but is recognized by universities in many countries. Nowadays, many international schools use IB courses.
So looking at the main line of curriculum, that is, the logic of curriculum development, will help us understand what ability it cultivates. If the main line of a course is the development of grammar knowledge and deep learning, then this is a typical course for language knowledge. It is more suitable for adults who need to learn English systematically, rather than children who use language for the purpose.
3. Look at the teaching methods
Since I am reading English textbooks, it is essential to look at the teaching methods used in this set of textbooks. I have introduced several mainstream teaching methods before, such as listening and speaking, grammar translation and communicative teaching method. Recently, the discovery method and inquiry learning we just mentioned are also very popular. Teaching methods are closely related to teachers' delivery ability. I have met many teachers in many institutions and schools in China before. No matter what kind of textbooks I take, I will take it as a new concept of grammar-based. In other words, if the teacher's teaching method does not keep pace with the times, the design of teaching materials will not be able to land.
View process
To evaluate a textbook, we can also look at its procedures, that is, the process. I have read a primary school textbook. Its unit structure is divided into eight lessons. The first step of 1 level is reading and writing. It is said that the seventh and eighth lessons will be arranged, that is, the last two classes. It's hard for me to accept Although children in primary school need to develop their reading and writing skills, listening and speaking is still a very important foundation. Especially in the first half of primary school, listening and speaking is a very important skill. Moreover, in order, we should first open the topic and language adaptability through listening and speaking, and then further develop into the reading and writing part. The programming of this textbook is typical of rereading, writing and listening.
Viewing skills
Techniques are also an angle to see whether a textbook is well designed. The so-called skill is the specific method to achieve each learning goal. For example, I want children to learn colors not only at the level of understanding these color words, but also to explore and express them with colors. Therefore, my design link is not only to identify the vocabulary of image output colors, but also to design activities of exploration and expression. For example, dye the cloth with pigment, and mix and knead it with plasticine of different colors to make a new color. These hands-on activities can stimulate children's brains and cognition to a deeper extent and create natural situations for using language. Children can use the language actively, not just passively follow it.
Having said these standards, I finally look at the vocabulary and grammatical structure involved in this textbook. All vocabulary and grammatical structures are for the purpose, but they are not an end in themselves.
Watch the topic
With the current teaching materials becoming more and more advanced and comprehensive, there are more and more aspects for our reference.
Topic, many textbooks will choose children's favorite topics, such as animals. Only animals can be divided into zoo animals, marine animals, farm animals, pets and so on. A reliable publishing society regularly surveys children's interests to ensure that the course content matches children's interests to the greatest extent.
7. Look at the skills of concentration
Key skills refer to the striking features of this textbook in listening, speaking, reading and writing. For example, the key skill of some textbooks is reading, and it is possible that the main line of the whole textbook will develop bit by bit according to the reading skills. Some courses are equipped with special writing lines, and each unit will have a section dedicated to practicing writing ability.
8. Look at illustrations and photos
Refers to illustrations or photos in teaching materials. Some textbooks have more illustrations and fewer photos, which is not conducive to children's cognition of the real world. The photos in a good textbook can not only convey the meaning, but also play the role of making the finishing point in the whole set of textbooks.
9. Look at the cognitive line
Cognition means that the cognitive lines in textbooks can be developed on the same level as children. Looking back at the English textbooks I started to learn in Grade One, Li Lei and Han Meimei, why do we feel less interested? That's because the language level and cognitive level of that set of books are at the primary school level. Once the cognitive level is out of touch, what is lost is motivation, and motivation is the core element of learning.
10. See Assessment.
A good set of teaching materials must be equipped with a complete evaluation system, including both procedural and summative; It includes both the skills of each subdivision and the overall skills; It includes both placement tests at different levels and placement tests at the same scale (usually CEFR).
1 1. Look at the mode, that is, the learning mode.
There are many modes of a course, whether offline or online, which part is offline, which part is online, which part is collective learning and which part is self-study. A good course can have the definitions of these scenarios.
12. Look at the parts
Components, that is, other components in the course except the main teaching materials.
First, third. Audio is supporting audio, which refers to the audio of text, story, text, etc. Workbooks are workbooks, and teachers' books are teachers' reference books. Almost all of these three textbooks will be equipped, and some textbooks will be equipped with several versions. For example, audio is divided into English and American versions, exercise books are divided into skill exercises and knowledge exercises, and teachers' books are divided into teaching plans and teaching guidance.
Music, now almost all children's English learning content includes music, such as songs, hymns, and some are accompanied by MV. Music has a great influence on children. Good music can help children understand and apply the target language, and also help them do better pronunciation exercises. Unfortunately, not every set of textbooks attaches great importance to the role of music. Many times, music is a kind of decoration. Music is used to learn languages. They pay more attention to the presentation of the target language in music than the participation of children. A good textbook will invite a team specializing in children's songs and nursery rhymes to produce songs, chants and MVs. The more children like singing, the more they love singing, and the more their language improves.
Video, including story animation, mini-cartoons, mini-documentaries and sitcoms. Nowadays, many textbooks have short stories in the form of cartoons in each unit, and these stories are usually accompanied by cartoons. There is also an opening film with the knowledge points of every two units as the main line and the teaching material IP as the protagonist. The content of the former is exactly the same as that in the book, and the latter will increase the creation appropriately. Small documentaries are usually made according to the core content of each unit in order to create more realistic scenes for the language. For example, when it comes to color, you can design a video to find vegetables with different colors in the vegetable market, objects with different colors in nature and objects with different colors at home. Sitcom is another innovation, similar to mini sitcom in the form of Friends. The protagonist makes jokes in the target language to make the audience laugh, so as to increase the comedy effect. These are scenes to increase language use in the form of videos, to create entertainment elements of language and to increase children's motivation to learn language.
Readers, language learning is necessary, but words usually provide learning scenes and are rarely used. Matching reader is a very good application mode. Usually matched readers are matched in topics, language difficulty, cognitive level and so on.
Games refer to pairing games. The old textbooks used to be accompanied by some paper games such as bingo, board games and small cards. Now it has risen to the electronic version of the game. Functional, such as linking the sound, shape and meaning of words; There are theme games, similar to the scene games where Super Mary finishes various tasks in English. The current platform has not only PC segments and web segments, but also mobile terminals based on mobile phones and ipad. In the future, more technical elements will be integrated, and learning and playing can be better combined.
Teaching aids and handicrafts. Some textbooks will provide teachers and students with rich teaching AIDS and handmade bags.
Courseware. Some textbooks will be equipped with PPT courseware, some will provide e-books with various interactive functions based on interactive whiteboard technology, and some will be called Active Teach, which is equivalent to teaching software integrating audio, video, interactive games and whiteboard functions.
Having said that, let's briefly summarize. When choosing a textbook, the most important thing is to look at its training goal, ability direction or knowledge direction; How often does Takuwa achieve this goal? What mode and scene does the course adapt to? After clarifying these elements, let's look at the details of the knowledge points.
Finally, I want to say that the textbook is suitable for school learning scenes, not for family scenes. Many mothers ask me what textbooks I should tell my children at home, and I will tell them that there is no need to have classes at home. What needs to be created at home is a more relaxed and warm language use scene, not a learning scene. Therefore, at home, parents are advised to take their children to sing songs and nursery rhymes in textbooks, read more English picture books, watch more supporting MV and cartoons, and even play more supporting video games with their children.